Illinois Bicycle Law Pages

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Bicycle Collision Case Settled for Injured DeKalb Child

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers of Keating Law Offices have successfully settled a case on behalf of the family of a now 11-year old child who suffered severe and permanent injuries as a result of a bicycle accident while riding her bicycle to school. The tragic collision occurred on October 4, 2011 in a residential neighborhood in Sycamore, a town in DeKalb County. After extensive negotiations, attorney Michael Keating was able to resolve the case for the entire automobile insurance policy limits of $250,000.00. Attorney Keating stated:

"I have been representing victims of bicycle accidents for over a decade. This case was one of the highlights of my career. The insurance companies actually made several fair arguments in this case as to why the full insurance policy may not apply, but through solid research and negotiations we were still able to obtain the optimum result. Most importantly the young girl in this case, a sweet but tough young lady, has fortunately made a remarkable recovery. This settlement will help her continue to recover from this horrific collision. This result is a testament to the firm's unwavering commitment to help victims of bicycle accidents no matter how "tough" the case may seem."

The then 9-year-old victim was riding her bicycle along the sidewalk on Wild Street when she started to cross the intersection with Becker Place in Sycamore. Despite the presence of a yellow school bus at the intersection with its lights flashing to alert approaching drivers that children were in the area, the driver allegedly drove through the intersection without slowing down and struck the victim with his car. The driver admitted to police that he never saw the little girl on her bicycle before hitting her. State law and local Sycamore ordinances require drivers to slow at intersections and for "hazards." One of the arguments in the case was that a school bus taking kids to school was a kind of "hazard" and ordinary care required the driver to slow in the presence of the bus.

In this case, the driver who struck the girl did not have adequate insurance coverage to compensate the girl and her family for the cost of her medical bills. The attorneys at Keating Law Offices were able to assist the victim and her family in first obtaining the driver's entire policy limits and then obtaining the full compensation they were entitled to by bringing a claim against her own insurance company under that policy's underinsured motorist coverage.

Keating Law Offices successfully argued that the driver was at fault in the collision as he violated sections of the Illinois Vehicle Code when he drove at an unreasonable speed through the intersection. The argument was that driving at even a "normal" speed was unsafe with children and a school bus present and these actions directly resulted in the driver striking the young bicyclist. The contrary arguments from the insurance companies were that the real cause of the collision was the girl riding into the roadway of an uncontrolled intersection and, regardless of fault, the girl had made a remarkable recovery in the face of severe injuries. They argued, therefore, that the value of her claim was therefore relatively limited compared to someone who did not make such a successful recovery.
Injuries to bicyclists caused by motor vehicle-versus-bicycle collisions are often severe. These injuries require immediate medical treatment and necessitate a long recovery process. But besides the devastating physical effects of a car-versus-bicycle collision bicyclists, and their families, must face the daunting financial burden of extremely large medical bills. When bicyclists are the victims of injuries caused by underinsured or uninsured drivers they may be able to get compensation through their own insurance policies if they have a plan that provides underinsured or uninsured motorist protection coverage.

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers have successfully helped our clients to obtain justice by utilizing all means possible. Our attorneys represent the victims of bicycling-related personal injuries throughout Illinois as well as working with counsel in other states. In this case, our attorneys were able to obtain a successful pre-trial settlement of the full value of the policy limits from the insurance companies involved. Our firm is known for aggressively advocatingfor those who have been injured while bicycling including obtaining settlements from insurance companies for the full value allowed under their policies.

If you have any questions regarding this post or an issue involving Illinois personal injury law, please contact Illinois Bicycle Lawyer Mike Keating by calling him at 312-208-7702 or emailing him at MKeating@KeatingLegal.com. In addition to representing bicyclists, Keating Law Offices handles all types of personal injury cases throughout Illinois.

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KEATING LAW OFFICES

The Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices is the top law firm in Chicago, Illinois representing victims of bicycles accidents and crashes. The firm has successfully represented numerous victims of bicycle accidents and collisions in Chicago, the suburbs, and throughout the rest of Illinois. In the process the firm has recovered literally millions of dollars in compensation for its clients.

The firm is managed by Mike Keating, an Illinois bicycle accident attorney based in Chicago and founder of Keating Law Offices. The firm has handled several high profile bicycle-related cases and is known as a firm that is not afraid of handling complicated bicycle-related lawsuits and claims. The attorneys at Keating Law Offices are considered national leaders in the area of bicycle law.

Mike Keating is himself an avid bicyclist and is the Chair of the Bicycle Litigation Committee for the American Association for Justice. He is also on the Board of Managers for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. The firm's attorneys are always available to answer any questions regarding a bicycle accident or crash. The firm's attorneys can meet you any place that is convenient for you to discuss your case. Please call at any time for a free consultation with absolutely no obligation. We are here to help.

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Illinois and Chicagoland Bicycle (Bike) Crash and Accident Attorneys

Keating Law Offices is a Chicago, Illinois firm of trial attorneys focused on handling cases involving bicycle collisions and accidents. Keating Law Offices has successfully represented hundreds of bicyclists throughout Illinois who have been injured in a bicycle crash or accident. If you have been injured in a bicycle crash or accident, please contact Illinois Bike Accident Attorney Mike Keating at mkeating@keatinglegal.com or call Keating Law Offices at 312-208-7702. All initial consultations are free and all communications are confidential and privileged in accordance with Illinois law.

Keating Law Offices represents victims of bicycle crashes and accidents throughout Illinois including Chicago, the surrounding suburbs, and Downstate Illinois. Bike Collision and Accident Attorney Mike Keating and the attorneys at Keating Law Offices have represented clients in the Circuit Courts of Cook County, Lake County, DuPage County, McHenry County, Kane County, Will County and LaSalle County. The clients have been from the Chicago neighborhoods of Pilsen, Austin, Andersonville, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Loop, West Loop, South Loop, Bridgeport, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Morgan Park, Englewood, Edgewater, Ravenswood, Rogers Park, Sauganash and Beverly as well as nearby suburbs such as Oak Park, Evanston, Elmhurst, Villa Park, Evergreen Park, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Glen Ellyn, Glenview, Wheaton, Lisle, Naperville, Orland Park, Glenview, Winnetka, Wilmette, Arlington Heights, Northbrook, Round Lake and Skokie. Chicago Bicycle Crash and Accident Attorney and Illinois Bicycle Crash and Accident Attorneys at Keating Law Offices, P.C.

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Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices

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